A Chance Meeting
by Rick Murphy
Summary: *Ch.2 Added*This one is dedicated to my buddy, Raye. She called it a 'Romy' (Remy+Rogue). Variant of the Evolution-verse, sans Gambit intro. Just a new way of adding him in.
1. Default Chapter

Rogue stood outside a clothing store where Jean Grey and Kitty Pryde had just gone shopping. La dee freakin da. She didn't really want to waste money on clothes. They didn't really matter, after all, and she wanted to save her money for when she graduated from the Institute. She did like to come along and chat with them, though, but didn't really want to be there for the dress buying process. With a sigh the young southern girl turned and leaned on the store window, then looked around a bit. A small grouping across the street caught her eye and she dashed through a gap in traffic to check it out.  
What Rogue saw when she reached the small crowd and managed to push through to the front was a boy a little older than her, maybe 18, a few strands of brown hair swaying in front of red eyes. That made her look twice, they were a kind of deep crimson that seemed almost frightening at first. She looked closer and couldn't see any edges of contact lenses. Weird, but then again, who was she to talk with her shock-white strand of hair?  
"All right nah, ladies an' gentlemen, who can find ol' Remy's heart today?" He moved three cards around on a small table, then flipped each over. It looked like three card monty, but with the Ace of Hearts as the target to find, the two black Aces the other cards. He flipped them back face-down as someone dropped some money onto the little extension on the side. "Ok, sah, i's time ta try an' see if ya know where yo' heart's at." There were a few chuckles from the crowd as the man tried to watch the cards, tracking the Ace. Finally the Cajun - Remy, he'd said - stopped and pulled his hands away. "Which one will it be?"  
The man thought, then pointed to the center card. Remy flipped it, revealing the Ace of Spades with a grin as he snatched up the money. "T'ank yo' fo' da donation, kind sah." He flipped the other two cards, the Ace of Hearts on the far right. Remy grabbed up his cards after looking through the money he had in his hand. "Well, folks, i's time fo' Remy to be movin' on fo' today. Good luck nes time, if yo' try an' win yo' money back." Several men grumbled and the crowd dispersed as Remy shoved the money into a back that was leaning against a building. Rogue could help but look him over for a second, he had well defined muscles and was wearing a wife- beater and blue jeans that complimented him, although the dirty boots took away from it a bit.  
Remy grabbed the table and folded it up before stuffing it into the bag too and hefting it up to his shoulder. He turned and stopped quickly as he almost plowed right into Rogue. "Whoa dere, Cheri! Yo' scared Remy, bought gave 'im a haht attack." He chuckled and smiled at her, but she only stared at him, right at his eyes, which made Remy pause for a moment. "Cheri? Yo' all right?" Rogue blinked, then blushed deeply, glad she had taken to gothic makeup, looking down for a second. "Yea, Ah'm fine... Jus wond'rin' somethin'... Isn't what you're doin' illegal?" Remy just grinned and tried to pat her on the head, but she dodged away. "Ain' nothin yo' need ta worry 'bout, Cheri, yo' jus' get yo'self along to yo' momma nah."  
Rogue frowned and pushed herself up onto her tip-toes, right up into the Cajun's face. "Ah'm not a little girl! You're probably not much older than me, even." That confident grin never left Remy's face, but that is the point of being a con man, isn't it? "Remy didn't mean ta insult a, ma cher, yo' quite da cutie, Remy jus' needs ta be gettin' along, da police ain' likin' him out heah" He turned and started down the sidewalk, only to have Rogue pick up pace right next to him. "Why do ya do it, then? I'm sure ya could get a regular job somewhere." He chuckled and glanced over at her with his eerie red eyes. "Is yo' a Girlscount, Cheri? Wan' ta do yo' good deed fo' da day?" She scowled and clenched her hands into fists.  
"Look, Ah'm jus' tryin' ta be nice!" She was infuriated that he would continue to treat this like a joke of some kind, treat her like a child. "Well, Cheri, when yo' give Remy some sugah Remy will listen ta what yo' want Remy ta do, all right?" He grinned and gave her a wink as they stopped at a crosswalk, waiting for the light to change. Rogue blinked, then frowned and looked away, Remy looking over at her when all he heard was the noise of the city. "Did Ah say somet'in' bad, Cheri?" Rogue took a deep breath and sighed, then shook her head. "Ah'm jus'... different..."  
Remy chuckled as they continued on across the street. "Don' fret none 'bout it, Cheri, Remy know what yo' mean. He ain' so not different himself." Rogue gave a small smile and shrugged. "Ah can't touch people... it... hurts them." Remy slid his arm around her shoulders, as if he hadn't just listened, or perhaps he all ready had figured out her skin was clothed nearly all along her body, and his arm wasn't near her bare neck at least "Well, Cheri, yo' ain' missin' much, cause mos' da guys out dere is no good, nah like Remy. I's dem dat's missin' out on yo', das all." She gave another small smile but slipped away from his arm, and he didn't bother try and stop her.  
Rogue sighed and stopped, and Remy stopped with her. "Ah knew at least one who wasn't... Hey, Ah gotta get back to mah friends... Um... Ya know, if ya are... like us... Ya could come along to the school..." Remy just chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, Cheri, i's no da place fo' Remy. Remy got a home all ready. Maybe yo' can look Remy up sometime." He slid out a card and flipped it upward. Rogues eyes followed it upward then she snatched it out of the air, looking at it. The Ace of Hearts with an address written on it. She looked up only to find Remy was all ready a ways down the sidewalk. Rogue smiled and blushed again as she turned around and ran back toward the clothing store where Jean and Kitty stood outside and looked aorund for her.  
As she ran up Kitty started talking, as usual. "Rogue, you had us like, totally scared! You can't just run off like that! You could have been, like, kidnapped, ya know? It happens all the time!" Rogue sighed adn rolled her eyes. "Relax, Ah'm fine... Was just... Talkin' with someone." Jean smiled and started toward her car with her packages, Kitty following. "Well, let's get back to the school, now, I'm meeting Scott in an hour." Kitty giggled as she and Rogue slid into the back seat of the convertable, the packages taking up shotgun, as Jean pulled out and started down the street. Kitty leaned towards Rogue and whispered to her. "So, who was he?" Rogue just pushed her away and shook her head. "It ain't none of your business, Kitty Pryde." Kitty huffed and leaned back into the seat, sulking. Rogue smiled and looked at the card she'd kept out of sight before sliding it into her pocket. It would just be her little secret. 


	2. A Chance Meeting Ch 2

Rogue looked down at the card, just to check the address one last time. She sighed and looked down at herself as well. She still wore black clothes, but something that showed off a bit more of her figure, hopefully made her a bit more attractive. She knocked softly on the door in front of her, the outline of a '9' where a number used to be hung on the dirty door. The apartment building was very run-down, not even a front door to the building, but at least the apartments themselves had doors.  
  
She saw motion on the other side of the peephole before the door swung open to reveal the young Cajun she'd met the other day. Those same eerie red eyes sparkled at her from behind his stray locks, and a large smile covered his lips. He stood back from the door and opened it wider to usher her in. "Dis, cheri, is da house of de one an' only Remy LeBeau." Rogue stepped in slowly and put the card back into her pocket. She bit her lip as her eyes scanned the somewhat dirty apartment.  
  
The whole place seemed unclean, really, or maybe it was just the building. The furniture was sparse, and looked just as run-down as the building. An overstuff love seat sat in front of a small TV with foil wrapped around the bunny ears, and a recliner was next to it, the foot-rest propped up by a box. "It's… nice…" She smiled her best, which became more sincere when Remy stepped up next to her, a hand pushed gently into her back to guide her to the small sofa. She sat and folded her gloved hands in her lap, glancing at the TV, though she couldn't really make out what was on through the static, and she assumed the sound was off to avoid the unpleasant noise.  
  
"Yo' wan somet'in ta drink… Me pardonner, cheri, I never got your name yesterday." Remy looked back at her from the door to what Rogue assumed was the kitchen. She had to do a lot of assuming in this place. "It's… Rogue… And, um, no thanks, Ah'm fine." Remy shrugged and disappeared through the door-less doorway, not seeming to question her name, which made Rogue smile. He came back with a bottle of Bud and cracked it, tossing the cap randomly onto the floor, and sat next to her on the loveseat. "Da tube is busted, so dere is no sound, cheri, but at least da pitchah is still dere." Rogue blinked and looked at the TV, then at Remy. "Um… not really."  
  
The Cajun grinned at her and shrugged. "Yea, Remy know, i's why he plays da cahds so much." He chuckled and set the beer on another box that set next to the loveseat. He stood and walked over to the TV, flipped it off, and turned to face Rogue. "So den, Cheri, what should we do, hm?" Rogue blinked, then blushed and looked at the floor. "Well, Ah guess we could play cards… I know how to play Go Fish." He smiled at Remy apologetically. The young man just smiled back and shook his head. "Remy play da cahds fo' work too much. He wouldn' mahnd hearin' mo' bout da pretty li'l fleur da's sittin on his sofa." He walks back over to her and sits, sliding an arm around her shoulders, careful to avoid her skin.  
  
Rogue was about to pull away just on instinct, but the warmth of another body just felt so good, even if she couldn't feel it against her own skin. It was almost intoxicating, so she just sighed softly and relaxed. They talked for hours, just sitting there in the little apartment. Since the TV was shut off the only light was from the windows, which slowly faded to evening. Rogue talked about a few things, but Remy just kept getting her to open up more and more, while revealing tidbits about his own life. She didn't notice that he kept away from specifics in places; Rogue was just enjoying the company of someone that wasn't afraid and tiptoed around her. Or maybe it was her that wasn't afraid for once. He was just so sure of himself, and she didn't see any reason that he shouldn't be.  
  
As the light began to fade Rogue suddenly stood and looked down at her watch. She was late, very late, dinner would all ready be over by now, and curfew was in a little more than an hour. Remy blinked and stood, "Did Remy do somet'in wrong, p'tit?" Rogue smiled then shook her head, "No, not at all… This was the best time Ah've had in a long while… Ah just… have ta go." Remy smiled and gave her a little hug, which made Rogue's heart flutter, but she hugged him back, hoping that he would make sure their skin didn't touch. He let her out with a small wave and she hurried back to catch the bus. She looked forward to seeing the charming Cajun again, but was confused. She just couldn't understand why she felt this way. This wasn't normal for her. Then, she thought as she sat down on the bus, it must be him; he just had a strange affect on her. She sat upright as her thoughts continued on. What if it was his mutant power? He had said, or at least she thought he meant, that he was a mutant. She suddenly became infuriated. She'd just have to find out next time. 


End file.
